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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27153802">Wound Too Tight</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MamaBear7319/pseuds/MamaBear7319'>MamaBear7319</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Happier, Friendlier Timeline (2014) [19]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 23:01:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,583</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27153802</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MamaBear7319/pseuds/MamaBear7319</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Waiting for the next thing to happen is too much for the boys.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Happier, Friendlier Timeline (2014) [19]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1934734</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Back To School</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Classes started as if nothing had happened. Everyone else came back talking about their spring break trips. The boys put on a good front but the weight of what could be an all out war bore down on all of them. The boys went to class, studied, then trained. Wyatt's training was limited to instructing the others and rehabbing his shoulder. Peter bounced between sparring with Bobby and running on the treadmill. He tried swinging in the gym but all it did was frustrate him. Within two weeks of being back, Peter felt like he was a ball of tension.</p>
<p>"Ok, that's it. We aren't studying, we're not training. We are going to the Odyssey and acting like college students." Wyatt looked at other four. "We're all acting like it's the end of the world and while there is something brewing on the horizon, it's not here yet." The four boys didn't argue with him but they didn't move either. "We need a night off." He looked over at Peter, "You text or call MJ multiple times a day. When you're not texting or calling, you're checking her tracker." Peter crossed his arms and started to make a rebuttal but Wyatt cut him off. "I'm just as guilty." He looked over at the others. "The rest of you are asking for updates multiple times a day from Steve or Nat or Professor Xavier or Reed. At least you're mixing it up some but we're all stressing about this. We need to blow off some steam."</p>
<p>Peter uncrossed his arms and sighed, "You're right." He reached over and grabbed Johnny's keys off the bar and tossed them to him. "You're driving." While Peter knew Wyatt was right. He also didn't want to split them up. Usually he and Johnny would both drive but when needed they could all fit into Johnny's SUV, which is what they were doing tonight.</p>
<p>They arrived at the Odyssey earlier than normal so staked out their table and ordered food. Bobby looked over at Peter. "There's no one really here. Come play pool with us."</p>
<p>Peter glanced around the relatively empty bar and had a 'screw it' moment. Standing up he walked over to the pool table and picked up a cue stick. He had played once at the compound and had then been banned from playing. Chalking the stick he looked at other other four. "We're all playing. Everyone gets a turn then I go. If I miss I'll buy the next round. If you all clear the table before my turn I'll buy the next round". He grinned at them. "Rack them up."</p>
<p>They were five games into it and Peter hadn't missed a shot yet, until he heard Gwen. "Parker, are you actually playing pool?" The end result was the six ball rolling across the table without the proper spin on it and then coming to a complete stop less than an inch away from the corner pocket. Peter dropped his head. "Thanks Gwen."</p>
<p>The other four laughed. "Yeah, thanks Gwen. Peter's buying now."</p>
<p>Gwen walked over to the table and looked at Peter. "Play me." Peter looked over at the other four who merely shrugged. Peter sighed. "Fine. Ladies first."</p>
<p>Gwen set up the balls and took her shot. She sank five balls in a row before missing and giving Peter a turn. Taking a deep breath he leaned over and made the first shot, then proceeded to drop the remaining solid colored balls until just the 8 ball and Gwen's two striped balls were remaining on the table. Looking at Gwen he sunk the 8 ball without looking at it. "This is why I don't play."</p>
<p>Gwen laughed. "Where did you learn to play pool?"</p>
<p>"A friend taught me." Peter let it drop at that. He glanced over Gwen's shoulder. "Hi Harry."</p>
<p>Gwen glanced over her shoulder and kissed Harry on the cheek when he dipped his head down and hugged her from behind. "Harry! Peter just beat me at pool." Gwen smiled at Peter.</p>
<p>"Didn't know you were that good at pool. You never play." Harry watched Peter put the pool cue up.</p>
<p>Peter shrugged. "It's just physics and geometry." The hand eye coordination didn't hurt either he thought as he retreated to their table and sat down with the rest of the boys who had already made their way there.</p>
<p>Ultimately Peter was glad they had gone out. Everyone seemed to be relaxing some. He managed to only text MJ a handful of times and check her tracker a handful more. So far she wasn't getting too irritated with him but he could tell it was coming. They called it a night a little after midnight and headed home. Everyone else headed to bed. Peter made a valid attempt but after staring at his ceiling for thirty minutes he headed up to the roof. Looking out over the river he could see the Boston skyline. It was no where near as impressive as New York City's. There were a couple of tall buildings but none of them were close enough together that he could properly swing like he could at home. He realized on top of swinging he really just missed being high up too. Before he gave it much thought he activated the Iron Spider and dove off the roof.</p>
<p>xxxxxxxxxx</p>
<p>"Incoming call from MJ." Karen's voice rang through Peter's HUD.</p>
<p>"Hey MJ. It's 1:30 in the morning. Why are you awake? Don't you have a test tomorrow?"</p>
<p>"Test isn't until tomorrow afternoon." MJ paused, "So my watch has this really cool feature that shows me not only where you are but also how high up you are. Why are you 700 feet in the air?"</p>
<p>Peter cringed. At the time it had seemed like a wonderful gesture on his part...giving MJ the ability to track him as well. He thought it was only fair and when he showed it to her he could tell it had meant a lot to her. "The tallest building in Cambridge is only something like 200 feet. I miss being high up."</p>
<p>"Because it's quiet and you can think." MJ paused, "What's bothering you?"</p>
<p>Peter sighed. "I'm waiting for the next thing to happen. Part of me just wants it to come so we can get past it and the other part of me wants it never to come."</p>
<p>"Fair enough. I think we all feel that way. But you're going to drive yourself crazy if you can't find a way to deal with it."</p>
<p>Peter frowned as he perched on the edge of the tallest building in Boston. "MJ, how am I supposed to deal with it. You're potentially in danger on multiple fronts..."</p>
<p>"Stop. That's why Nakia is here. To take my safety off your plate."</p>
<p>"MJ, you're safety will always be on my plate. And it's not just this current threat. What happens when it comes out that I'm Spider-Man...because sooner or later it will." Peter felt his anxiety levels rise.</p>
<p>"We will deal with it together. Just like we'll deal with the fallout from the current threat together."</p>
<p>Peter took a deep breath. "What if we're not ready? What if we can't handle it? What if we lose?"</p>
<p>"Peter, I've watched you take on more and more over the years. You've handled it every time. Plus, you're forgetting that you have not only your team but an incredible amount of support. Think about it. You've got Professor Xavier's group. To hear Bobby talk, they're not lightweights. I'm also pretty sure Dr. Strange can do more than portals. You have the entire country of Wakanda. I'm not sure if anyone knows what Reed and Sue are capable of at this point. And then you have the original Avengers who have taken on threat after threat and have prevailed. I have faith that this combined group can take on just about anything and that's what you have to remember...it's a group effort. You aren't on your own." She heard Peter sigh. "Why don't you come up next weekend?"</p>
<p>"I can't. Wyatt and I have a project due." He heard MJ sigh on the other end. "Maybe the weekend after that. I'll see how my class schedule is working out."</p>
<p>"Ok. Peter, this will all turn out ok. Please try not to stress as much about it." MJ stifled a yawn. While Peter could function on very little sleep she could not. But she also hated knowing that Peter was struggling and there wasn't anything she could do to help.</p>
<p>"I hope you're right. You need to go to sleep." Peter looked up at the night sky. It was way too late for her to be awake dealing with his anxiety. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."</p>
<p>"Talk to you in a couple hours...good night Peter. Don't stay out too late." MJ sighed and hung up leaving Peter staring at the twinkling stars.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Firebrand</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Peter cringed as he slid into the chair at their table at the Odyssey. He could hear Gwen from across the room.</p>
<p>"It's finally happened!" Gwen had abandoned the group of people she had been talking to and headed over to the boys’ table. Standing in front of Peter she grinned. "I finally got a higher test grade than you."</p>
<p>Peter sighed. "Off day." He knew it was really more like off week but so far that test was the only evidence of it.</p>
<p>Gwen laughed. "I'll say. I'm not sure I ever expected you to get that bad of a grade on a test."</p>
<p>"Gwen, leave it alone. Everyone has off days." Bobby leaned back in his chair. The stress of waiting for the next thing to happen was wearing on them all but it was definitely affecting Peter the worst. Of course Johnny was giving him a run for his money and was still on campus working through lab work as a result of it. "It barely made a dent in his class average."</p>
<p>"I know, it's just that it wears on you after a while when you're always beaten on tests by just a couple points. It feels good to finally come out on top." Gwen leaned on their table and looked at the four boys. "You know, all of you all have been off since spring break. What gives."</p>
<p>Wyatt looked over at her. "Just the realization that finals are on the horizon."</p>
<p>Gwen playfully leaned over and grabbed one of their nachos. "You know, if you're wound too tight, you're bound to break eventually. You all are all too brilliant to let that happen, right?"</p>
<p>"Gwen!"</p>
<p>They all turned to look the direction the voice came from. Gwen sighed, "Speaking of wound too tightly...". She pushed away from the table and walked over to Harry.</p>
<p>Peter watched her, there was just enough noise from different conversations that he had trouble hearing their conversation but, he didn't need super anything to see that Harry was more than a little agitated. Peter watched him grab Gwen by the arm and pull her over to the other side of the Odyssey.</p>
<p>Seeing where Peter's eyes were tracking, Davis nudged him. "I'm pretty sure Gwen isn't the type to put up with crap like that very long."</p>
<p>Peter didn't look away until he was sure Gwen had a handle on Harry. "I know. I just don't like it when guys act like that."</p>
<p>Davis nodded, "Everyone has their own stress and everyone deals with it differently. I think Gwen knows to come to us for help if she needs it."</p>
<p>Peter sighed and looked down at his drink. "I know." He glanced over at Wyatt, "Any idea what time Johnny is done?"</p>
<p>Wyatt shrugged, "Last text I got was that he had about twenty more minutes and then he was headed this way." Looking down at his watch he added, "Which means any time now."</p>
<p>xxxxxxxxxx</p>
<p>Johnny parked and slid out from behind the wheel. All he wanted to do was mindlessly waste a couple hours at the Odyssey. Having to spend extra time in the lab had not been fun. He had taken a couple short cuts on heating materials that hopefully no one had picked up on. Dropping his keys in his pocket he headed down the block. He was so late all of his normal parking spaces were taken. He glanced at the traffic and darted across the street making a beeline for the front door until something caught his eye on the roof of the building across from the Odyssey. Deciding to check it out he changed direction and headed to the back of the building.</p>
<p>Keeping his flames as light as possible he landed on the roof and saw a familiar individual on the other end watching the building. Black hair draped across her face, flames were flickering off her finger tips as she stared intently through the windows of the Odyssey. Sensing Johnny she whipped around to face him. Flames increased over his body and Johnny tensed for a battle that never came.</p>
<p>"I'm not going to hurt anyone." Firebrand took a step towards Johnny but hesitated, unsure of what to do.</p>
<p>"You hurt a lot of people before so I'm having a hard time believing you now."</p>
<p>Firebrand looked down, refusing to make eye contact with Johnny. "I didn't want to hurt anybody."</p>
<p>Johnny reduced his flames but didn't extinguish them entirely. He was hoping it was slightly less intimidating. "Then why set all those fires?"</p>
<p>Firebrand looked back down at the Odyssey, panicking slightly until her eyes landed on her quarry again. "It's what I was told to do."</p>
<p>"You're a big girl. You can make your own decisions." Johnny took a step towards her and immediately regretted it when she slid further away. He put his hands in front of him in an attempt to show her he wasn't going to hurt her. "What's your name?"</p>
<p>She glanced back at him and frowned. "Firebrand."</p>
<p>"No, what's your real name?" Johnny tilted his head and looked at her. It was if he had just asked her an impossible question.</p>
<p>"Amanda". She replied, quiet enough that she wasn't sure if he heard her. She hadn't heard her own name spoken aloud in so long.</p>
<p>"Amanda." Johnny smiled at the shock on her face. "What are you doing here Amanda?"</p>
<p>She shook her head and glanced back down at the front of the Odyssey. "I'm just supposed to watch...to make sure...". She stopped and looked back at Johnny. "I can't...". She glanced back down at the front of the building seeing movement out of the corner of her room eye as a group of people walked out. "I'm sorry...". She whispered before leaping off the roof.</p>
<p>Johnny ran to the edge just in time to see her disappear into the shadows.</p>
<p>xxxxxxxxx</p>
<p>The boys sat around the dining room table at home after Johnny had told them about his encounter with Firebrand. Peter pulled up the files they had gotten before and started reading through them again. "You think she's about our age?"</p>
<p>Johnny nodded, "And more skittish than a wounded animal."</p>
<p>Peter opened a folder containing all of the information they had ruled out before because of various reasons. "Ok...there have been multiple people who have gone by the name Firebrand. Most of them used some kind of exoskeleton which is why we didn't pay much attention to them before." He started rereading though everything. "Huh...ok...so there was this guy Gary Gilbert who was a mob enforcer maybe 10-15 years ago who went by the name Firebrand. Sounds like a pretty horrible guy..."</p>
<p>Davis leaned back in his chair, "For the record I'm going to go ahead and confirm that all mob enforcers are pretty horrible guys..."</p>
<p>Peter gave Davis a sympathetic look, "Sorry...I forgot..."</p>
<p>Davis shrugged, "My dad was actually worse than most of the enforcers. But they're bad enough. What happened to this Gilbert guy?"</p>
<p>"He and his wife were killed during some gang war in Detroit. Their daughter went missing. The age fits." Peter skimmed the rest of the information.</p>
<p>"But she doesn't use an exoskeleton. She's a full elemental." Johnny frowned. He wasn't sure this was getting them anywhere. He looked over at Wyatt who had grabbed a tablet and was looking at files. "What are you looking for?"</p>
<p>"I had Karen search for any teenage arrests matching Amanda's description in Detroit over the last five years."</p>
<p>"Have her add hospital files on overdoses." Johnny leaned over at looked at Wyatt's tablet. "I have a hunch."</p>
<p>The boys split up Karen's results and started flipping through pictures. Within two hours Bobby looked up from his tablet. "I think I found her."</p>
<p>Peter flipped off the ceiling where he had been crouched and looked over Bobby's shoulder. "Maybe. Johnny...what do you think?"</p>
<p>"That's her." Johnny grabbed the tablet from Bobby and started reading. "Drug overdose 4 years ago. No name but her information lists her as a chronic drug user. They estimated her age at 15 which puts her the same age as us, give or take."</p>
<p>Wyatt leaned back against the sofa from where he was sitting on the floor. "What kind of life have you had if you're classified as a chronic drug user at the age of 15."</p>
<p>Davis shook his head. "Chances are she either ran or was taken by the people who killed her parents. She would have grown up on he streets or worse." He looked over at Johnny, "What made you think to check overdose records?"</p>
<p>Bobby stood up, "You think she got a hit of Terrigen which triggered her powers."</p>
<p>Johnny nodded, "She had what looked like old track marks on her arms. The Terrigen fits with that scenario. Who ever is using her now I think they're probably keeping her clean. She's not stable but I didn't get the impression she was high."</p>
<p>Peter flipped back up to the ceiling and started pacing. "Ok, so Amanda is working for mystery person X and was supposed to be watching someone at the Odyssey?" He looked back down at Johnny for confirmation.</p>
<p>"I'm just supposed to watch...to make sure...". Those were her exact words. Johnny crossed his arms and looked up at Peter. "Think she's watching you?"</p>
<p>Peter shrugged, "Maybe. But why? To make sure of what?"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Trust</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Do I need to be worried about the C on your Organic Chemistry test? I've really never had to deal with grades with you so I'm not sure how this is supposed to work." Tony looked at Peter's face on the screen in front of him. Tony hadn't seen that much anxiety etched on his face in a while. He was purposely trying to make a joke out of it, but he was more than a little worried.</p>
<p>"Dad, it was just an off day." Peter leaned back against the headboard of his bed. "All it did was drop my average from something like a 99.2 to a 97."</p>
<p>"You know I'm not really worried about the grade, right?"</p>
<p>Peter sighed, "I know. I'm just on edge. It's starting to get to me."</p>
<p>Tony scrubbed a hand over his face, "Then come home. Spend a couple days up at the lake and unwind."</p>
<p>"Dad, there's only 4 weeks left of school. I have zero free weekends. Plus, I'm not wild about splitting up the team. Not with everything that's going on." Peter looked at his dad on the screen in front of him. He recognized the worry on his face. "Anything new on the Ross front?"</p>
<p>"Not since Wyatt talked to Nat 2 hours ago. You know all of you are stressing too much about this." Tony started working on his argument in his head for all of them to head out to the lake this weekend. He wasn't sure if any of them were handling the stress.</p>
<p>Peter sighed. "I know. We're trying to force each other to stop obsessing. As their leader I should be the one making sure they're handling this ok, not the opposite way around."</p>
<p>"Pete, stop. You may be the leader but you're missing a big part of being a team. You watch each other's backs...always." Tony paused. He had debated about just taking the armor and having this conversation in person but he was trying to avoid being a helicopter parent. Right now he was regretting that decision. "Do they know you're going out every night?" Tony watched Peter look away from the screen which answered the question for him. "You should tell them."</p>
<p>Peter looked back at the screen. "Dad, it's what's allowing me to unwind even if it is just a little."</p>
<p>"I didn't tell you to stop, just to tell them. It's not like any of them can come with you without creating a scene." Tony watched Peter process what he was saying. One of his favorite things about Peter would always be that he could see the wheels turning in his head. "Kid, I'm ok with you going out because I know swinging and going high helps. I just want to make sure you're not falling back into bad habits. You have a team. Trust them with this."</p>
<p>Peter sighed, "Ok." Wanting to switch subjects away from his spiraling anxiety, he asked "How's Morgan?"</p>
<p>"That wasn't smooth at all." Tony smirked at Peter. "She's fine. An over achiever like the rest of the family. She's not even two but she's acting like every description of 'the terrible twos'." Tony made a last ditch effort, "You know if you came out to the lake for a couple days you could see her. She misses her big brother."</p>
<p>"My deflection may not have been smooth but that was mean to try to use Morgan." Peter smiled at his dad.</p>
<p>"Hey, whatever works. Use the tools at your disposal." Tony wiped the grin from his face, "Seriously kid, if you keep spiraling I'll pull in the even bigger guns and force all of you to the lake for the weekend. Davis can even portal you there."</p>
<p>"Dad..." Peter started to protest but saw the worry on his dad's face again. "We'll think about it. And, I'll tell them I'm going out. Happy?"</p>
<p>"No, but it'll do for now. Pete, I know I don't need to tell you to be careful, but be careful. And don't hesitate to call if you need help. And, realize that I'm going to be the overly obsessive dad until you're home for the summer."</p>
<p>"You mean worse than normal?" Peter asked in mock horror.</p>
<p>"I love you kid."</p>
<p>"Love you too dad." Peter disconnected the call and pushed up off the bed. Tell the team his way of coping with stress was sneaking out at night and free falling off the tall buildings in downtown Boston...this should go great. It doesn't sound crazy at all.</p>
<p>xxxxxxxxxx</p>
<p>Peter chuckled to himself as he swung across the bridge to make his way into downtown Boston. When he had told the other four, the responses had been 'cool', 'do you want company?', 'call if you run into anything', and 'yeah, I know...my bedroom is next to the roof entrance'. It was a lesson learned...he should have trusted them to begin with.</p>
<p>Peter made his way to the tallest building. It was fun to climb, it was almost 100% glass and steel which meant the walls were completely smooth. He scampered to the top and leaned off the antenna holding it with one hand. He looked out over the city. He was starting to get used to the view, even appreciate it. It still wasn't New York but it would do for now. There was a building he had discovered he could web to about 200' down. He knew his dad hated it when he did a free fall and he knew it was because there had been more than a couple times his dad had been forced into a free fall during battles where he hadn't been able to reengage the thrusters until the last minute. Peter wasn't reliant on technology to stop his descent. Just himself. After the web-shooters had failed a couple times they had put in a manual low tech default that Peter could use to get safely to the ground. He launched himself off and enjoyed the feeling of falling. He flung his arm out and fired a web to catch the side of the building and swung around to land on the roof of the building next to it.</p>
<p>He felt his stress levels start drop after about the fifth time. He switched to swinging between the lower buildings. It was pretty late and the streets were far more deserted than New York's ever were. Not completely empty but empty enough that he caught some movement out of the corner of his eye right as his Spidey sense went off. Clinging to the side of a building he focused in the movement in the shadows of an alley. The figure that came out of the shadows was green with pointy ears and it caused his heart rate to skyrocket.</p>
<p>"Peter, what's wrong." Karen asked in his ear.</p>
<p>"Scan the alley and tell me what's there." He didn't trust his eyes at the moment because what he was seeing shouldn't be there.</p>
<p>"One individual. Facial recognition is a 70% match to Norman Osborn's alter ego." Karen paused. "Peter, Norman Osborn is dead."</p>
<p>Peter was reminded in the moment that Karen was an AI and was having trouble interpreting what she was seeing with her sensors. Despite how human the AI's were they still saw everything as 0's and 1's. "But it's actually there right?" Peter was stressed enough that he wouldn't have been surprised if he was hallucinating at this point. He almost wished he were.</p>
<p>"Peter I can confirm that they're is a flesh and blood individual in the alley who is very similar to Norman Osborn's alter ego."</p>
<p>Crap. Peter thought to himself. If he had been in New York he would have engaged and had Karen call for backup. The problem was he wasn't in New York and Spider-Man wasn't supposed to be in Boston. He had gone to extreme measures to make sure the webs were cleaned up before anyone saw them and he had Karen help him avoid all cameras. Engaging now would definitely blow his identity. He opted to stay frozen to the side of the building and observe. He watched the creature dodge in and out of the shadows of the alley. "Karen, switch to night vision."</p>
<p>The figure came into focus on his HUD, the soft green glow illuminating him in the dark. It took Peter a few minutes of watching to figure out what it was doing. "It's testing itself. Seeing what it can do." He murmured to Karen.</p>
<p>"I believe you are correct Peter."</p>
<p>Peter watched until the figure retreated back inside one of he buildings. "Karen, plot the quickest course back to the house."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Goblin Redux</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Peter paced the living room in front of the boys in various stages of being awake. Johnny was the most awake and Peter suspected it was because he hadn't gone to sleep yet.</p>
<p>"And you're sure it didn't see you?" Johnny asked, arms crossed watching Peter's agitated pace.</p>
<p>Peter stopped for a moment, "Pretty sure. It wasn't concerned about anything else. Just seemed to be exploring what it could do. Discovering it's strength."</p>
<p>Bobby rubbed his hands over his face in an attempt to wake up. "And Karen confirmed you weren't hallucinating?" When the other four stared at him in disbelief that he would even ask that, he shrugged. "What...I wanted to go ahead and rule it out. Let's face it, if any of us were hallucinating I don't think it would be seen as odd at this point. Peter is doing free falls that would freak out anyone, Johnny isn't sleeping, Wyatt is researching everything he can get his hands on, Davis is experimenting with his abilities, and I am spending way too much time in the gym. Hallucinations are only a matter of time."</p>
<p>The rest of them knew he wasn't necessarily wrong, they just didn't like it being shoved into their face. Peter started pacing again. "I'm wasn't hallucinating Bobby. I had Karen check."</p>
<p>"I think it's fairly obvious who it is, I just don't understand why." Wyatt picked up a tablet and pulled up a map of downtown looking at the area Karen had marked indicating where the creature had been. He looked up to find everyone staring at him. "What? I mean it's obviously Harry. I just don't understand why."</p>
<p>Peter frowned. He had been so freaked out he hadn't even thought through who it might be. Harry made a lot of sense now that Wyatt said it. "Harry."</p>
<p>"Yeah. I mean let's start with how he's been acting. I'm surprised Gwen hasn't decked him yet." Wyatt looked over at Peter. "Didn't you say that the data they got from Norman shows that the morphing serum was affecting his brain?" He waited for Peter to nod. "And if anyone would have had access to a cloud server it would have been family." He looked between Peter and Johnny. "Johnny shares a server with Sue and you and Tony share multiple servers. There's a good chance Harry has your file."</p>
<p>Peter sank down onto the sofa. The leap that Wyatt was making was logical. Harry has his file. "If it's Harry then that means he's tied in with Ross, our fixer, Amanda, and Basil. How does that even happen?"</p>
<p>Davis sat down next to Peter. "Well, there's one way to find out." He looked at the group. "Full op. Listening devices, tail him, the whole thing."</p>
<p>Peter sucked in a breath. "Ok, what do we have here? I've got a handful of spider drones &amp; trackers. I can probably make more. We can place them at his apartment, on his car. I've got a smaller one to put maybe somewhere on him or in his backpack."</p>
<p>Wyatt nodded, "Nat gave me some surveillance gear to play around with."</p>
<p>Johnny nodded, "I've got statistics with him. I'll take care of the tagging him. Once we track his schedule one of us can plant a drone in his apartment. The car should be easy."</p>
<p>Peter leaned back and rubbed a hand over his face and looked at Wyatt. "We should probably tell Nat, Steve, and dad, right?"</p>
<p>Wyatt nodded, "Oh definitely. I've been warned multiple times not to, and I quote, 'let Peter pull the crap about not telling anyone about the situation until he's in the middle of a fight because he wants all the answers first'." Wyatt grinned, "There is no way I'm getting on Nat's bad side, although I can appreciate your stance on wanting to know what's going on first."</p>
<p>Johnny laughed, "We just need to make sure we make our case that this does not need to be a full Avenger op."</p>
<p>xxxxxxxxxx</p>
<p>"If you're calling all of us at the same time, something happened." Steve stated the obvious and looked at the five boys in the video screen. Nat was next to him in the command center and Tony was in a separate screen.</p>
<p>"We didn't want to have to explain this multiple times." Peter recognized the look on his dad's face but forged on without commenting. "This is from last night." Peter played the feed showing the creature. He had debated stripping the audio out but his dad would have known and gotten a hold of the original footage. If he thought Peter was overly bothered by the encounter there's no way he would be on board with letting them run with this on their own.</p>
<p>Nat let out the breath she had unconsciously been holding the video was over. She hadn't expected to see the creature again. "Well we know it's not Osborn. I'm assuming you have a theory?"</p>
<p>Peter nodded and glanced over at Wyatt. "We think it's Harry. He's been acting off lately and it's possible he would have had access to his father's servers."</p>
<p>Steve leaned back. "What do you have in mind?"</p>
<p>Wyatt spoke up, "Surveillance. See what it gets us. We can make the logical leap that it's Harry we just can't figure out why or how he's tied in with Ross, our fixer, or Basil."</p>
<p>Peter looked over at Johnny. They had debated about whether to let them know that Firebrand was back. Peter and Johnny both were on the side of not saying anything, although Peter thought they had completely different motivations. Wyatt and Davis had voted for full disclosure. Bobby had been the tie breaker and had ultimately decided to side with Peter and Johnny. So for now, she was staying off everyone's radar.</p>
<p>"If we let you run with this there are ground rules."</p>
<p>Peter turned back to Steve. "Of course."</p>
<p>Nat leaned in front of Steve. "You will not make a move. This is intel gathering only. And, we want access to the video and audio feeds."</p>
<p>"Easy enough to accomplish. Karen can link of the feed. We're planning on using the spider drones." Peter focused on his dads face. So far he had been uncharacteristically quiet.</p>
<p>"Tony, what do you think?" Steve leaned back in his chair.</p>
<p>"Oh, I hate the idea. But I'm leaning towards letting them do it." He looked at the boys. "The only reason I'm considering this is because I think the danger is mitigated by the fact that Harry is still learning how to use his new found abilities. I would rather see if we can find out what's going on instead of waiting for the next thing to happen. We've been able to gather a little bit of intel through outside channels but not enough to paint a full picture. None of you are to go anywhere by yourselves and none of you are to take any risks. Am I clear?"</p>
<p>A chorus of 'yes sirs' sounded from the boys. Peter looked at the screen. "So we're good to proceed?"</p>
<p>Natasha smiled. "Sounds like it. Let me know if you have trouble with any of the equipment."</p>
<p>xxxxxxxxxx</p>
<p>Peter had just enough time to walk into his bedroom before his phone rang. Flipping it over to the video screen he sighed, "Dad..."</p>
<p>"Kid...". Tony looked at Peter, he seemed less stressed than he had last night but he wasn't sure if that was a good thing.</p>
<p>"I know what you're going to say...". Peter cut him off. He had been rehearsing this conversation in his head since they made the decision to tell them what was going on.</p>
<p>"I don't think you do."</p>
<p>"You think we should should let you handle it. But we're not planning on doing anything. We just want to try to see if we can find out what's going on. There's only been a handful of times when any of us have been anywhere on our own since spring break. We'll make sure there's always at least two of us together now. We can do this dad." Peter realized his well rehearsed arguments came out in one breath and hadn't really followed the logical course he had laid out in his head.</p>
<p>Tony sighed. "I said I'd let you do it. But Pete, I know what Osborn did to you, remember? I know you still have problems dealing with it. Facing Harry is just going to stir all of that back up. That's what I'm worried about." Tony looked at Peter. "You five can handle this. You've been trained well. I just want to make sure it doesn't cost you more than you think it will."</p>
<p>Peter looked at his dad. He had expected his argument to center more around the threat of the unknown, not old ghosts. "It freaked me out a little when I saw it." He knew his dad had picked up on his increased heart rate from the video. "But I'm ok. I know he's dead. And I will let you know if I start struggling with it."</p>
<p>Tony studied Peter face. "How much do the others know?"</p>
<p>"All of it. After what happened in California I told them everything I remember and some of the stuff you all filled in." Peter let his dads eyes, "Please let me do this. If I run from it now I'll be running from it the rest of my life."</p>
<p>Tony knew Peter was right but he wanted nothing more than to protect him from all of it. "If you start having nightmares again I want a call...doesn't matter what time. And you cannot just stay awake."</p>
<p>Peter grinned. "I will call you if I start having problems again."</p>
<p>Tony sighed. "You and I know that despite your honest intention for this not to turn into a confrontation that's what's going to end up happening, right?"</p>
<p>Peter nodded. "There's five of us. You said it yourself, we’re well trained."</p>
<p>"I want to hear from you multiple times a day."</p>
<p>"Dad, I will call you so much you'll get sick of me. Just surveillance. It'll be fine."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Escalation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Peter and Wyatt sat in the hallway outside Johnny's statistics class. Keeping their promise to Tony, Steve, and Natasha they were always in groups of 2 or more. None of their group was in Johnny's statistics class so Wyatt and Peter waited for him. There were plenty of people milling about so it wasn't overly odd that Peter and Wyatt were there. Peter glanced down at his watch. The tracker was already active. The plan was for Johnny to plant it on Harry. Once they could establish his pattern they could get inside his apartment and install surveillance equipment. Bobby and Davis had taken care of tagging his car that morning.</p>
<p>Wyatt nudged Peter when the classroom door opened and students started pouring out. Johnny was one of the first ones out so the three of them made their way toward the door leading outside. Peter could tell that Johnny had been successful because the tracker was showing that it was moving about 30 yards behind them which was exactly where Harry was at the moment. Peter looked up when he reached the bottom step and saw Gwen headed their way.</p>
<p>"What are you two doing on this side of campus?" Gwen stopped in front of Peter, Wyatt, and Johnny.</p>
<p>"We were meeting Johnny after class. We've got a project we need to work on for another class." Wyatt glanced back as Harry caught up with the group.</p>
<p>Gwen kissed Harry on the cheek as she continued moving towards the building they had just left. "It's like we're tag teaming the math building. I'll see you after class Harry. Peter, Wyatt, Johnny...see you out tonight?" She didn't wait for an answer just waved over her head as she walked into the building.</p>
<p>Peter had turned to watch her walk up when his Spidey sense forced him to take a step back, missing most of a violent shove from Harry. "What the hell Harry?" Peter looked at Harry's face that had turned into a vile twisted version of itself. Johnny and Wyatt had both moved to position themselves between Peter and Harry.</p>
<p>"Stay away from her!" Harry spit the words out.</p>
<p>Wyatt took a step towards Harry. "No one is interested in Gwen as anything other than a friend, but if you keep this up, she will drop you in a heartbeat." Wyatt looked at Harry. He and Johnny were the taller of the five boys and Wyatt had learned how to move his body to project an even more imposing figure than his 6'4" frame was normally. He didn't move his eyes from Harry's eyes until Harry took a step backwards, his face resuming its normal facade.</p>
<p>Harry's eyes darted between the three boys. Steeling himself, he pushed his way through them, leaving them staring after him.</p>
<p>"Oh, yeah, he's definitely the Goblin." Wyatt grinned at the look the other two gave him. "It was either Goblin or Orc...I thought Goblin fit it...him better."</p>
<p>Peter shook his head watching Harry retreat. "You've been reading too much Tolkien. I'm just glad he didn't transform. Not sure we could have kept that quiet." He looked down at his watch. "Tracker is in place. Let's go meet Bobby and Davis."</p>
<p>xxxxxxxxxx</p>
<p>The group sat around their normal table at the Odyssey. Karen fed all of Harry's movements to Peter's watch which meant they could keep tabs on where he was regardless of where they were. Davis portaled Wyatt and Bobby into Harry's apartment when they realized he had a late lab. Surveillance equipment installed, Karen recorded audio and video and would filter down segments for them to review when they got home.</p>
<p>Peter looked over at the door when Gwen walked in and then glanced down at his watch. The tracker on Harry still showed him and his car at his apartment. He smiled at Gwen when she slid into a chair at their table. "I'm surprised Harry isn't with you."</p>
<p>"Harry is a jerk right now." Gwen sighed and reached over and grabbed a piece of pizza. "I cannot wait for this semester to be over."</p>
<p>Bobby smiled sympathetically at Gwen. "Sorry Gwen. Would it make you feel better if you beat me at pool?"</p>
<p>"Maybe." She smiled at Bobby and glanced over at Peter. "I definitely don't want to play Peter tonight."</p>
<p>Peter smiled. "My pool career is over. You can stay the reigning champion."</p>
<p>Gwen laughed. "Do I get some kind of banner?"</p>
<p>"I can probably work something out." Peter's tone sobered a little. "You know if you ever need help, you can call us. Right? Any of us day or night."</p>
<p>Gwen's facade broke for a moment but was instantly replaced with the confidence they were used to. "I know. And I appreciate it. I think I have it under control through."</p>
<p>Bobby stood up, "Come on, there's an open table."</p>
<p>Peter waited until Bobby had pulled Gwen away from their table before looking down at his watch again. Karen had pinged it to let him know that Harry was moving. Wyatt looked over and studied the watch. "Where is he going?"</p>
<p>Peter shrugged, "Not here." They watched it until he came to a stop. "It's a warehouse down by the river." Peter glanced over at Davis. "Want to go on a field trip tonight after he leaves?"</p>
<p>Davis grinned. "Definitely!"</p>
<p>xxxxxxxxxx</p>
<p>The blue glow from the portal faded behind Peter and Davis as they switched on flashlights. "Karen, scan the building and make sure there's no one here."</p>
<p>"There's no one in the building, although there are quite a few life forms." Karen responded from Peter's watch.</p>
<p>"Life forms? What's that supposed to mean?" Peter frowned as his light flashed around the room.</p>
<p>"I'm picking up a few different wildlife species. Raccoons, squirrels, rats..."</p>
<p>"Eww...ok, only concerned about people right now." Peter glanced over at Davis who was rummaging though papers on a table. Peter headed over to the other side of the room. For a building full of rats and squirrels there was an impressive amount of lab equipment. Peter looked over some of the equipment. "Karen this looks like everything you would need to replicate dna."</p>
<p>"You are correct Peter."</p>
<p>"Hey...found your file." Davis called from the other side of the room. He had a laptop turned on and was scrolling through information.  He had opened a document file but there was video saved in the same folder as well.</p>
<p>Peter walked over and looked over Davis's shoulder. It only took reading a couple lines to know that Davis had found Osborn's lab notes. "Yeah...". He took a couple steps backwards and looked at the notebooks scattered across the table.</p>
<p>"It's odd, you're not mentioned by name at all. He just keeps referencing his creation." Davis frowned as he continued skimming through the file looking for Peter's name. They had all heard Peter's version of the story. Osborn's notes made it abundantly clear that he was just getting started and Peter definitely didn't remember all of it. Davis looked over at Peter. "He seemed pretty proud of you in a sick, sadistic way."</p>
<p>"Not me, his creation...which just creeps me out." Peter picked up one of the notebooks and started flipping through it. The front half of the notebook was full of precise, neat notes. The further he flipped through the notebook the more erratic the writing became until it was nothing more than an illegible scrawl. He stopped on a page and stared down at it. It read 'Peter Parker is Spider-Man'. Hatred and anger oozed from the page. He tucked the notebook into his jacket pocket. Based on what he was seeing Harry wouldn't miss it. He thought the serum must be messing with his brain pretty badly at this point. "Find anything else?”</p>
<p>"Yeah, this looks like it might be the morphing serum notes...maybe." He glanced over at the equipment. "I think he was tasked with cloning the Skrull DNA segments that were used in the serum." Davis looked over at Peter. "Which means Ross didn't have the complete formula."</p>
<p>Peter shrugged. "Keeping that part of it would have been a smart move on Osborn's part. Feed them just enough to keep them off his back while making himself indispensable. With Norman gone they would have been trying to get their hands on his research. Maybe they jumped to the same conclusion Wyatt did and made contact with Harry with the intent of using him to gain access to Norman's files."</p>
<p>Davis picked up another notebook. "The serum is definitely messing with his head. Half of these are complete nonsense."</p>
<p>Peter shook his head, he wasn't sure if the damage could be reversed at this point. "I don't think we're going to find much more. Let's head back."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The Warehouse</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Peter flipped through the notebook, stopping periodically to read notes in the margins. He had similar notebooks, although for the most part he had transitioned to using a tablet. But, for special projects he would still revert back to a notebook. It's what he had used when he started, as May always called, 'playing in the lab'. The notes in the margins weren't always related to the project at hand. They were usually thoughts that popped in his head in the middle of trying to solve another problem. Harry's margin notes were similar. Some of them were simple reminders, some were far more interesting. 'ZS' appeared more than once. The same initials that had appeared in the lab notes in California that no one had been able to trace yet. The most interesting note by far was the one indicating that there was a meeting set up with 'Ross' related to the morphing serum. From what Peter could tell, Harry had insisted on meeting with him face to face before he would turn over the Skrull dna splice needed to complete the morphing serum.</p>
<p>"Your dad and Nat didn't seem to be surprised." Bobby commented from the other side of the table. The others were in a late lab for another hour, so Bobby and Peter had spent time going back over the notebook.</p>
<p>When Peter and Davis had returned the night before, the had found the entry and called Nat. Tony happened to be at the compound at the time so Peter had already gotten the lecture about how risky it was to portal into the building.</p>
<p>"I think they had probably connected him through other channels but this definitely connects Harry to the overall plan...whatever that is." Peter kept flipping the notebook. There were fewer and fewer margin notes as he got towards the back where his name was scrawled. It was as if less and less of Harry was actually there. Even though they hadn’t taken the time to watch the videos that had been saved in the same folder as the lab notes, they were assuming Harry had seen at least some of them and had identified him that way.  Peter glanced up when Bobby's phone rang.</p>
<p>Bobby tapped it to answer. "Hey Gwen...". Frowning, he pulled it down to make sure it was connected. "Gwen...". All he heard was the muffled sound of a car. He was about to hang up when he heard Gwen's voice, although he could tell she wasn't speaking into the phone.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Harry, stop the car."</em>
</p>
<p>Bobby flipped it over to speaker. Peter could tell from the look on his face something was wrong.</p>
<p>Peter could hear Harry's voice but it sounded muffled. He sounded almost manic.</p>
<p>
  <em>"You wanted to know what was going on...what was wrong with me."</em>
</p>
<p>Peter glanced at Bobby. Reaching over he tapped the mute button on Bobby's phone. Once he knew his voice wouldn't be heard he tapped his watch. "Karen, find Harry's car. I need to know where they are."</p>
<p>Peter grabbed his keys knowing Karen would get a location. Bobby followed him out, careful to keep the call connected. Pulling out of the garage Peter glanced down at his watch. Flicking it over to 3D, he and Bobby both studied the path Harry's car was taking.</p>
<p>"It looks like he's headed towards the warehouse." Bobby frowned. The warehouse was on the other side of the river. It would take them way longer than either of them wanted.</p>
<p>Peter glanced at the 3D map display to confirm the direction Harry was headed and accelerated onto the on-ramp. "Karen, see if you can block any police scanners and route them away from me." Luckily rush hour was going the other direction and he could move smoothly in and out of traffic. He glanced down at the speedometer. He was glad that since becoming a proficient driver, every time he was at the compound Nat or Bucky had taken him out to work on what Nat called defensive driving. Bucky's called it what it was...how to drive when you need to get somewhere or get away from somewhere really fast without killing yourself or anyone else.</p>
<p>Bobby was still listening to Gwen and Harry. <em>“Get out the car Gwen!" </em> Harry yelled as Bobby heard one door slam and Gwen screamed when the other one opened. Bobby glanced over at Peter. "He pulled her out of the car." A door slammed again and silence was heard from Gwen's phone. He put his phone down, still leaving it connected. "Her phone's in the car." He looked ahead and realized they were almost to the exit that would take them to the warehouse district. They should be there in less than a minute.</p>
<p>Peter maneuvered through the tighter surface streets arriving at the warehouse. "Karen, text the others and tell them to get here. Give them real time updates so they know what they're portaling into." He took a deep breath as he got out of the car. "Relay all of the info to FRIDAY." He was fairly sure they could take down Harry without a problem, he was just more worried about the fall out after the fact. And he had no way of containing Harry long term. His only option would be to knock him out and wait for SHIELD to contain him. He looked over at Bobby. "Don't ice up yet. Let's see if we can talk him down."</p>
<p>"Peter, Harry and Gwen are on the second floor in the lab area you were in before."</p>
<p>Bobby pulled open the door and they entered quietly. They could hear Harry and Gwen yelling at each other from the floor above. Locating the stairs up they silently ascended and paused at the top to orient themselves. Wanting to remain hidden as long as possible they slipped along the wall and stayed in the shadows until they could see Gwen and Harry. Harry had a tight grip on Gwen's arm.</p>
<p>"Harry, let me go. When you calm down and go back to being the Harry I know we can talk and figure this out." Gwen was astonishingly calm for the situation.</p>
<p>"This is who I am. Maybe you'd prefer it if I were someone else?" Harry's voice dripped with hatred. The mania that could be heard earlier was still there as an underlying tone but Gwen's comment had brought to the surface all of the anger that had been festering over the last couple weeks after he had been told what had happened to his father. "Maybe Wyatt...".</p>
<p>Peter and Bobby watched Harry morph into the facade that looked like their friend. Peter had only seen Norman morph into the green guy so seeing Harry morph into Wyatt was unsettling. Gwen had screamed in response and pulled against Harry as he continued to morph into Davis, then Johnny, them Bobby, then finally Peter.</p>
<p>"I was your second choice when you found out Peter wasn't interesting in you in anything other than a friend. I've apparently always been second choice after Peter. You know my father preferred him too." He violently pulled Gwen close to him. "There's a lot you don't know about Peter."</p>
<p>Gwen mustered her strength and instead of pulling against Harry, suddenly pushed in his direction, putting both of them off balance, sending them both crashing to the ground. It was enough for Gwen to roll out of the way. She looked over when she heard voices from across the room.</p>
<p>"Harry, stop." Peter and Bobby stepped into the room. "Let Gwen leave with Bobby and you and I can work this out." Peter approached Harry with his hands raised in front of him. He saw Gwen scoot across the floor to put more distance between herself and Harry. He was far enough away from both of them that his chance of webbing Harry up or pulling Gwen further away was slim.</p>
<p>The facade that had been Peter morphed back into Harry. "Of course you're here..."</p>
<p>"Harry, the serum is messing with your brain. This isn't you. We can get you the help you need." Peter continued to walk towards him.</p>
<p>"I don't need help. I've never felt stronger. Do you know the things I can do now?" Harry's eyes darted to Bobby who was moving towards Gwen. "I don't think so." He darted to Gwen's side and jerked her to her feet again, using her to ensure that Peter and Bobby didn't get too close.</p>
<p>"I know what you're capable of...but the rest of you is still in there somewhere. Let Gwen go. If you're mad at me, then you and I can work it out." Peter inched closer to Harry, looking for an opening. He had been hoping to talk Harry into letting Gwen go, but the odds of that happening were going down by the second.</p>
<p>"Mad at you?" Harry screamed incredulously. "You took everything I had. You're the reason I'm like this. I hate you!"</p>
<p>Bobby tilted his head and looked at Harry. "Peter didn't do this to you. Just like your father, you're making your own choices."</p>
<p>Harry twisted to look at Bobby, swinging Gwen with him. "He killed him!"</p>
<p>"Harry, you've read your fathers file on Peter. He stalked, captured, and tortured him. What happened to your father is entirely his own doing." Bobby moved closer to Harry and he could see Peter forming his web-shooters. Talking Harry down wasn't going to work. They both knew it at this point. Now the goal was getting Gwen away from him.</p>
<p>Gwen gasped as Harry tightened his grip around her. "Harry, let me go. You're hurting me." She twisted to look up at him. "If you ever cared anything about me then let me go."</p>
<p>Harry's face softened a little and he looked down at her. He released his grip a little. "Gwen..."</p>
<p>His relaxed grip was enough for Gwen to push herself away from him. She felt him stumble behind her and then felt him lose his grip. Knowing it might be her only opportunity she pulled completely free and ran towards Bobby and Peter. She heard a cackle behind her as she reached the area leading to the stairs. Stopping she turned to look. A large green creature had taken Harry's place. After seeing Harry morph previously she knew it was him. All she saw was the creature moving impossibly fast towards her. Stumbling backwards she realized how close to the stairs she was as she tumbled down them backwards.</p>
<p>The creature broke through the ice barrier Bobby had thrown up as well as freeing himself from the webs Peter had wrapped him up in. Mindlessly pursuing Gwen, he found himself blocked by a wall of flames.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Detained</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Peter's suit formed around him as he flicked a web towards the rafters and swung up, landing a kick into the creature's back. It was enough force to a cause the creature to fly into the wall, crashing through it. Peter's trajectory carried him through the hole after the creature. Landing behind him, he ducked as the creature hurled a table at him.</p><p>Bobby slid into the room behind the creature and fired a series of ice spears at it. Peter took advantage of the distraction to fire full strength taser webs. The tasers seemed to just slow the creature down a little...and make it really mad. Peter watched the creature pick up another table, equipment scattering, and launch it in his direction. He realized he didn't have any room to maneuver and braced to take the hit until it disappeared into a portal in front of him and reappeared over the creature dropping it on its head.</p><p>Johnny and Wyatt appeared behind Peter as he flipped up and over the creature. Wyatt landed another well placed kick sending the creature flying backwards but not knocking it off it's feet. Peter glanced over at Johnny who fired a volley of fireballs at the creature, scorching its skin where they made contact. Angered, the creature rushed towards Johnny and tackled him, pushing him into the landing leading to the steps. Peter and Bobby were the closest and followed the two. Peter flung a web catching one of the creature's arms to keep it from coming down. It didn't seem to care that it's hands were burning when it touched Johnny.</p><p>Johnny turned up the heat and drove the creature backwards into the immovable object that was Bobby's ice form. Bobby wrapped both arms around the creature and held it in place. "How are we planning on containing him?" Bobby asked as the creature struggled against him.</p><p>"Still working that out." Peter fired webs at his feet hoping to at least tangle him up if he got free from Bobby. He glanced down the stairs which still held a wall of fire. It was pretty impressive. He hadn't thought Johnny could hold something so long while fighting. "Did you see Gwen on your way up?"</p><p>Johnny followed his line of sight. "Uh...we portaled into the room you were in. That isn't me." Before the could move they looked back at Bobby and the creature, just catching the sight of them crashing through the floor as it gave out beneath them. Wyatt and Davis had overheard the conversation about the fire. "You two go that way, we'll make sure Bobby is ok." Davis created a portal as Johnny and Peter dashed down the stairs through the wall of fire.</p><p>Johnny reached the floor first. Kneeling over an unconscious Gwen was Amanda, holding the wall of fire in place. He skidded to a stop in front of her and knelt down next to Gwen.</p><p>"I didn't get here in time. All I could do was keep him from coming after her." Amanda looked up at Johnny, flames flickering off her body</p><p>Peter skidded next to Johnny. "Karen, scan Gwen."</p><p>"She needs medical attention Peter. I believe she has a skull fracture from the fall."</p><p>Peter looked at Johnny. "Stay with them. We'll contain Harry." Peter got up and headed towards the other three. Amanda was doing a good job of containing the wall of fire but between the fire balls Johnny threw and some of the equipment upstairs exploding during the fight, the rest of the building was now on fire. He made his way to where he thought the others had landed. The creature had broken free of Bobby and the webs and was currently rotating attacks between Wyatt, Davis, and Bobby. Davis at least had tactical gear on thanks to his ability to use the nanotech. Wyatt was still in jeans and a t-shirt.</p><p>Bobby iced the floor causing the creature to slide into a wall. Peter flung a web to the ceiling and used it to propel himself into the fight. They needed to end this soon. The smoke was already billowing in from the hole in the ceiling. Peter landed in front of the creature. "Harry, Gwen's hurt. We need to get her out of here."</p><p>The creature turned around and launched itself towards Peter. Peter reared his fist back and hit the creature in the jaw. The other three watched in fascination as the creature crumpled to the floor.</p><p>"You couldn't have done that ten minutes ago?" Wyatt skidded behind Peter and watched the creature transform back into Harry.</p><p>Peter shrugged. "I really hadn't been close enough. Plus I hate the way it feels." He shuttered slightly. He had felt Harry's jaw bone crunch under the impact from his fist.</p><p>Davis and Bobby walked up next to them. Bobby looked up at the flames flickering down the walls. "Building's on fire. We might want to get out of here."</p><p>Over the sound of the fire, Peter could hear sirens in the distance. Wyatt had already knelt down next to Harry and was in the process of picking him up and securing his over his shoulder. Peter led the way back to Gwen.</p><p>"I can hear sirens. Davis, portal Bobby, Johnny, and Amanda our of here." Peter looked over at Wyatt, "Think we can talk our way out of this?" Peter didn't have an option. His car was here. And, there's no way he could get Gwen and Harry out by himself so Wyatt was stuck with him.</p><p>Johnny stood up and watched Davis open a portal. He reached his hand down to Amanda. Grabbing it, their flames intertwined a moment before both extinguishing. Johnny squeezed her hand. "You'll be safe with us."</p><p>Amanda held on to his hand a moment before pulling it free. "I can't." Meeting his eyes she added "I'm sorry" before turning and running further into the building.</p><p>They could all hear the sirens now. "We don't have time. We'll find her." Peter squeezed Johnny's shoulder before kneeling down and scooping Gwen up in his arms. The armor had already retreated. Wyatt and Peter watched the trio leave through the portal then made their way towards the front entrance.</p><p>xxxxxxxxxx</p><p>Tony pulled open the door and walked into the police station. Oddly enough, it hadn't changed much since his days at MIT. Of course, he had actually been arrested then, not just being questioned by the police, but part of him found humor in the symmetry. Howard had been pissed off when he had bailed him out.</p><p>Tony wasn't pissed off, at least not at Peter. He was slightly irritated that Peter and Wyatt had been detained, but Pepper had made him promise that he wouldn't get himself arrested in the process of getting Peter and Wyatt released. The sergeant at the desk had been expecting him so he was immediately escorted to the captain's office.</p><p>"Mr. Stark...". The captain rose and extended his hand.</p><p>"Yeah, not here for pleasantries. I want my son and his friend released immediately. I also understand Peter's car was towed. I want it delivered to his house by tomorrow morning and there better not be a scratch on it." Tony crossed his arms and looked through the tinted lenses of his glasses. "Where are they?"</p><p>The captain took a deep breath and moved around his desk. "Follow me." He led Tony down a hall. "They were just being questioned about the fire. There's a lot of questions that need to be answered and they're the only ones we can talk to right now."</p><p>"I'm not overly concerned about your questions." Tony waited for the captain to open the door. Inside, Peter and Wyatt were sitting at a table with a guard standing by the door. "You felt the need to guard them?" Tony asked incredulously.</p><p>Peter and Wyatt stood up. "Hey dad." Peter walked around the table with Wyatt on his heels. "Thanks for coming."</p><p>"Thanks Mr. Stark." Wyatt added as he made his way through the door.</p><p>Tony ignored the captain and led the boys back down the hall the way he came. Once outside he pulled open the back door and waited for both boys to get in before following them. "Happy, head to the house." He looked at Peter and Wyatt. "Are you two ok?"</p><p>Peter nodded. "How's Gwen?"</p><p>"Skull fracture. She's in a medically induced coma until the swelling goes down." Tony knew there was no reason to sugar coat it. He watched Peter turn away and look out the window. He knew the fact that Gwen was hurt as bad as she was would weigh pretty heavy on him.</p><p>Wyatt looked over at Tony. "And Harry?"</p><p>"SHIELD took him into custody. The story they went with was a contagious neurotoxin. I don't know much past that. They'll probably keep him sedated until they have a plan." Tony reaches over and squeezed Peter's shoulder. "You all did everything right. You probably kept Gwen from getting killed."</p><p>Peter nodded but didn't look over at Tony or Wyatt. "Everyone make it back to the house ok?"</p><p>Tony smiled. "Yeah, and you've got a houseful right now. So I hope neither one of you was expecting a quiet day."</p><p>Peter pulled his eyes away from the window and looked at his dad. "What do you mean a houseful?"</p><p>"You had Karen basically live stream the fight. Nat, Steve, Bucky, Sam, and Clint are all hanging out at your house, although I think they're trying to call it a temporary command center. You're actually lucky Pepper didn't put her suit on and come herself. She was at the compound and saw most of it before I convinced her she needed to stay and take care of Morgan." He pulled out his phone. "By the way, call her and let her know you're ok."</p><p>Peter groaned and took the phone. Hitting dial he waited for Pepper's face to appear.</p><p>Wyatt stifled a laugh as Pepper launched into a two minute verbal onslaught about how worried she had been, and asking multiple times if Peter and the other boys were ok. Tony leaned over into the frame. "See Pep, he's fine. I'll let you know when I'm heading back."</p><p>xxxxxxxxxx</p><p>Tony followed the boys into the house. As expected, the living room and kitchen was full. Nat, Steve, and Bucky were at the table with Johnny going through data. Everybody else was on the couch, PlayStation controllers in their hands.</p><p>Natasha looked up when they walked in and smiled. "No trouble getting them released?"</p><p>Tony gave Nat a look that said 'I'm Tony Stark...of course I didn't have trouble getting them released' as he walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator.</p><p>Peter and Wyatt sat down at the table. "What are you doing?" Peter looked at the tablet in front of Natasha.</p><p>"Looking for Zeke S." Johnny leaned back in his chair.</p><p>Peter looked over in surprise. "You got a name?"</p><p>Johnny nodded, "After you went to help with Harry, Amanda filled in some of the blanks. Based on her description, Zeke is our fixer. He pulled her off the streets and used her. One of her jobs was trying to flush you out last fall."</p><p>"The fires?" Peter looked at everyone around the table for confirmation.</p><p>Johnny nodded. "She wasn't watching any of us that night I found her. Zeke sent her to watch Harry. He thought Harry had taken the serum and was unstable. I think he was worried about him exposing their plan." He took a sip of his water before glancing over at Steve. "She's scared of Zeke. I think its why she wouldn't come with us."</p><p>Steve nodded. "We can protect her and get her whatever help she needs."</p><p>Peter looked around the table. "What I don't get is why Harry would take the serum."</p><p>Johnny looked down at his own tablet before looking back over at Peter. "I don't know and so far we have not actually found a Zeke that would fit in any database."</p><p>Tony frowned as a memory popped into his head. An overheard conversation from years ago. "Try Ezekiel."</p><p>Natasha looked over at Tony. "Ok...why? I know that look."</p><p>Tony shook his head. "A memory of a piece of a conversation from a long time ago. Just let me know what you find."</p>
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